The MLB offseason is just barely underway, but already the Arizona Diamondbacks front office is helping solidify that a large part of its successful 2011 team will remain intact. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the D-Backs coaching staff have been given contract extensions, retaining them through 2013.
The only coach that has not been signed to an extension as of yet is Don Baylor, who is currently in Venezuela and has not yet been contacted. The Diamondbacks front office made it clear that he would also receive an extension. The coaching staff was previously under contract through 2012, but this new move will keep the coaching team intact for the next two years.
It's a smart move by a Diamondbacks organization that is entering as close to a no-brainer of an offseason as you can get. The spectacular coaching of Kirk Gibson and his crew is a huge reason that Arizona found so much success in 2011. Best to lock up the front-runner for this year's NL Manager of the Year for as long as you can.
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